


remember when

by huntressreyna



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Leo Valdez, Bisexual Piper McLean, Character Death, Comfort, Epic Friendship, Friendship, Hurt, Leo Valdez is a good friend, Minor Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Multi, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez Friendship, Piper Mclean centered, Piper and Leo besties fic no one asked for, Sad and Happy, They cry together, Valentine's Day, it's sad, leo and piper besties, piper centered
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 19:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29614584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/huntressreyna/pseuds/huntressreyna
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. Piper Mclean is still struggling to accept Jason's death.Piper and Leo spend the day together, eating way too much chocolate and reminiscing on the fond memories they have of Jason Grace.  They laugh and they cry, and it's bittersweet.
Relationships: Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Piper McLean & Leo Valdez, Piper Mclean & Jason Grace & Leo Valdez
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	remember when

**Author's Note:**

> hey all! I just want to thank you all for choosing to read this. I've always wanted to do a Piper-centered fic that focused on her and Leo's friendship and this idea came to me on Valentine's Day. I know the day is over, but because it's the month of February I still decided to post this! Enjoy!

Piper wrung her hands together, she hadn’t been to Camp Half-Blood since… well since the last time her and Jason started their unsuccessful quest to find Leo, who has been presumed dead after the war against Gaea. They searched for weeks before calling it quits and returning to Los Angeles together. Jason, the Pontifex Maximus, high priest of Camp Jupiter made it his mission to honor all of the Gods, which Piper found admirable. They spent time together and apart, and for a while, things worked. Piper was in love, and Jason was equally in love with her.

_“No breakups,”_ those words rang through Piper’s head and burned into her soul. It felt like a punch in the gut. Jason promised her, and she never promised back. She felt sick to her stomach, the last time she saw him before he died, it was to break up with him. She wished thousands and thousands of times over things were different; even blaming Hera for most of this. Hera manipulated the Mist, giving Piper false memories of Jason and she made Jason forget who he was. It all had a long-term effect on the both of them and eventually, everything spiraled. Piper spent months being angry, breaking things, screaming at anyone (her father usually was at the other end, but he understood it wasn't her fault). She wanted to rip off Hera's head and curse her, but she kept those things to herself, knowing very well what could become of her if she had cursed the Goddess outloud. 

She prayed to her mom, Aphrodite, for guidance despite resenting her. Piper wished and wished for so many things; she wished she was never born, she wished she didn’t break up with Jason, and most of all she _wished_ she could turn back time and save Jason, even if it meant her untimely death. Piper could never find a way to be at peace with what happened, continuously going around and around in circles from being sad and angry to just _numb_.

After Nero destroyed her Father’s work and basically took everything from them, they moved back to Oklahoma, living with the rest of their family on the Reservation. Piper was excited to get out of California, for a fresh start, maybe even learn more about herself and her family. She figured it could relieve some of the pain she was experiencing, maybe she’d be able to let go or find different outlets rather than taking out all of her emotions on her dad. She was grateful for him since he knew she was going through the hardest time of her life right now. He encouraged her to see a professional for help, which at first made her blood boil. _What is he insinuating? That I need help? That I can’t do this on my own?_ She thought, but after she had calmed down, laying in her bedroom, she thought it over. It made sense, but being a demigod, she didn’t think she could go to a mortal therapist. She needed someone who _understood_ what she was going through. That’s why, with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, she decided to meet up with Leo at Camp Half-Blood. He understood her. Definitely not a therapist, but a good friend. Her best friend, in fact. Before they found out they were demigods, they had met at the Wilderness school. They were fifteen then when they met, bonding over feeling like outcasts. That was before Gaea, before Hera manipulated the Mist, and before Jason. They had a playful friendship, always making fun of one another, but each knew how far was too far. She remembered the second week in school together, they decided to pull a prank on one of their teachers. The teacher humiliated Leo in front of the entire class, calling him stupid because he couldn’t solve the math problem (to be fair, instead of paying attention, he was building a miniature house out of paper scraps. However, that was no excuse to insult him). Either way, that infuriated Piper, and of course Leo was embarrassed and upset. The headmaster did nothing to the teacher but a verbal reprimand, so they decided to take matters into their own hands. They egged her house and her car; it was funny at the time, but two weeks of detention and community service hours was the not-so-fun part. Nonetheless, Piper and Leo stuck through everything together, until Hera fucked everything up. Piper and Jason suddenly made Leo feel like a third wheel, and then on Argo II, the seventh wheel. She hadn’t meant to make him feel that way, but with all the craziness going on and the quest they had, it didn't cross her mind until afterwards. And when she thought her best friend, Leo Valdez, died and was gone forever, she was devastated, but she still had hope. She knew he had to be alive somewhere. The day Piper saw the holographic message felt like the best day of her life; she wanted to cry and celebrate and hug Leo as soon as he got back. She also wanted to scream at him and slap him for scaring her. After reuniting, they went their separate ways, but managed to keep in contact.

It’s been too long, far too long, since they’ve seen each other. She missed his magic toolbelt and calling him “repair boy” even though he was _way_ cooler than that title; he was granted the gift of Pyrokinesis, meaning he could basically set himself on fire without being burned alive. She missed all of his dumb jokes, but hated how self-depricating they could be at times.

Leo lived in the Waystation in Indianapolis, doing community service work with kids in his free time. Being a foster kid himself, he knew these children needed someone who cared about them, and that’s who he wanted to be. He thought about applying to a few colleges nearby, but due to his interrupted education, he thought the only college that might accept him would be New Rome, which was in the West Coast. He couldn’t leave, the bond he felt with the kids he worked with kept him tethered to Indianapolis. Some of them even called him “Uncle Leo”, which made him cry like a baby when he returned from work one day. When he received an Iris Message from Piper asking if they could meet up soon, he readily agreed. He called Piper his “homegirl” which was just a Leo-way of saying Piper was his best friend in the entire world and nothing would change that.

He remembered when he heard about Jason’s death. He was devastated, he didn’t want to accept that reality. For days, he kept himself busy between building new things, fixing up old machines, doing community service work, anything to keep his mind off it. He often stayed up all night, knowing if his body stopped working, his mind would remind him of the harsh reality that is Jason Grace’s death. He felt the same way Piper did most of the time, he resented the Gods. Why couldn’t they do more to help their children instead of watch them fight _their_ battles and die because of it. Jason was too young, he had things he wanted to finish, things he wanted to do. And now he couldn’t. The only thing that brought Leo peace was knowing Jason was in Elysium right now, where he would spend the rest of eternity. One day, they would be reunited, he told himself, but not now, and hopefully not soon either. 

It was cold. Camp Half-Blood was filled with snow and the Aphrodite cabin had decorated everything with pink, red, hearts, and signs that said “love” because Valentine’s Day was coming up, and it would be absolutely _sinful_ to not celebrate. Piper wanted to gag when she saw the decorations that adorned the inside and outside of every cabin, the dining pavilion, and the amphitheater. The only good thing was the mountains upon mountains of boxed chocolate in the dining pavilion. Piper took a few boxes of chocolates, opening them up and tossing a few of the candies into the flame bitterly. _Thanks mom for this dumb holiday. And fuck you Hera for ruining everything_ Piper wanted to say, but she bit her tongue. She walked out of the dining pavilion, stuffing the chocolates in her duffel bag before heading to Cabin 10. She couldn’t be too sure how many of her siblings were actually there since not many campers stayed year round at Camp Half-Blood, but she had to guess a few were there, she couldn’t imagine just one of them doing _all_ the decorations at camp, that could take ages. She braced herself before she walked in, taking a deep breath, suppressing memories of when she first arrived to camp to the back of her head. It all led back to Jason; when she was claimed as Aphrodite’s daughter, everything with Drew, when they returned to camp and kissed on the roof of Cabin 1…it always came back to Jason. Always.

“PIPER!”

The yell startled her and she realized she had subconsciously opened the door, but her feet didn’t move, she was still in the doorway.

“Lacy,” Piper said fondly, seeing the excited thirteen year old girl. She walked in with a grin, setting her duffle bag down, wrapping the smaller girl into a hug. Lacy was taller than the last time Piper saw her, she noted, and she also had braces now, which was definitely new. 

“I missed you,” Lacy said, pulling back. She had her hair in french braids going down to her shoulders.

“I missed you too,” She said softly. Her heart warmed knowing she still had a family at Camp Half-Blood no matter what. Lacy was like a little sister to her, and she felt like she abandoned her, but between Jason’s death and moving back to Oklahoma, things were too crazy to visit camp, or even stay for the summer.

The young girl pulled away, “Mitchell’s here too, by the way, but he’s out on the lake with some guy from the Hephaestus cabin. They’re totally dating but he hasn’t said it yet.”

Piper smiled slightly, going to sit down on one of the beds. “So, what’d I miss since the last time I’ve been here?”

“Well, not much, really. Drew became less of a menace, we gained a few new campers,” Lacy sat next to her, bringing her legs up on the bed. “Mitchell made a love potion and it actually worked.”

Piper laughed, running a hand through her hair. Sadness lurked through her for missing these things, but she reminded herself she was here now. She wasn’t sure how long she would stay, but she was there to make some good memories. “Oh wow. Drew not being a menace? That’s surprising. I’m definitely not shocked about Mitchell though, I always knew he was talented.”

“Yeah,” Lacy said, looking up at Piper, “You’ve been gone a while. How come you came back now?”

Piper inhaled, “I’m meeting up with Leo. I think I might stay through the end of the summer. I kind of need to be around people who understand me.”

“That’s why I stay year round,” Lacy said, “My dad just doesn’t get it. Plus, I always attract monsters, and I don’t always have my dagger handy. It’s just easier to be here.”

“You ever thought of doing that program, going over to Camp Jupiter for a bit? They have a whole city too, you know? With a college and everything,” Piper said to her, wrapping her arm around Lacy’s shoulders.

“I’m scared. That sounds stupid right? I’m a demigod who’s supposed to be fearless and brave, and I’m scared to go to a new camp,” Lacy’s shoulders slumped and she looked down.

“It’s not stupid, Lacy, I promise,” Piper told her, “It is scary. You won’t know anyone there, it’s a completely different environment. It’s comfortable here for you, you have friends, you have familiar faces… it takes a lot of courage to leave it all behind. But, If I know you Lacy, I know that _you_ can do it. Only if you want to, of course.” She squeezed her shoulder gently.

Lacy smiled, looking up at Piper, “You think so?”

“Of course,” She told the young girl, “I know you can do it.”

“I’m so lucky to have you as my sister,” Lacy gushed and hugged Piper tightly before standing up, “I’ll think about it. Maybe next year. But I gotta go, I’m meeting Kayla and Austin at the amphitheatre. Something about approving the love songs they chose for the Valentine’s Day campfire. Apollo cabin is going all out.”

Piper smiled a bit, “Alright. Make sure _You Belong With Me_ is on the setlist.”

“It’s a classic, how could it not be on the setlist?”

“You never know with those Apollo kids,” She laughed softly. She watched Lacy leave and was painfully aware of how alone she was. She knew Leo should be arriving at camp soon, or at least within the next day. She said Valentine’s weekend, but didn’t specify exactly which day. Knowing him, he would probably arrive on Valentine’s Day with a grand entrance and say something like “ _Lover Leo is here_ ,” and shower everyone with his presence and those hard heart-shaped candies that he was obsessed with for some reason. Piper nearly broke a tooth eating them, but for some reason they were Leo’s favorite. Jason liked salted dark chocolate.

...

_“Ew, oh my Gods, what is that?” Piper spit out the chocolate into a napkin, coughing on the taste. Jason and her were in Los Angeles, in her house. They decided to have a movie night, treating themselves to a relaxing day after all the hard work they'd done._

_“Pipes, it’s just dark chocolate.” He laughed, popping a piece into his mouth. His sky blue eyes lit up with amusement at Piper’s disgust._

_“It’s disgusting and bitter. And it’s salty,” She said making a face, “Jason, why is it fucking salty?”_

_The blond chuckled, looking at the wrapper, “It has sea salt. Says it right here.”_

_“Sea salt belongs to the sea. Hence “sea” being in the name. Why can’t you eat like milk chocolate like a normal person?” Piper teased, taking a sip of water to get rid of the taste in her mouth._

_“We are the furthest people from normal, in case you haven’t noticed,” Jason said with a grin, popping another piece of the chocolate into his mouth. “So I will continue to enjoy dark chocolate with sea salt.”_

_“You do that, but I don’t want to be kissed if your mouth is gonna taste like that chocolate,” She said, glancing over at him. A playful smirk came across his lips and he leaned over, attempting to kiss his girlfriend, unsuccessfully._

Piper remembered the rest of that night; Jason chased her around her house, trying to kiss her with the salted dark chocolate still on his lips. She hid in the bathroom closet until a truce was called, of course though, that wasn’t the case. Jason tricked her, capturing her lips in his. And although it tasted of the chocolate Piper hated so much, she melted into him, kissing him back before forcing him to wash his mouth afterwards so she wouldn’t have to deal with the same bitter taste again.

She held the memory close to her heart. It sent a wave of agony through her, and tears welled up in her eyes. Piper wiped them away quickly, promising herself not to cry again, not right now. It was a fond memory, before everything went downhill, before their breakup, before his death. She inhaled deeply, a couple of times, saving herself from a panic attack. She had them too often these days, thinking about Jason often sent her spiraling like that, to the point where she couldn’t breathe. It scared her the first time, but now she was used to it.

...

_“No breakups, remember?” Jason’s voice broke. Piper had never seen him like this; so devastated, so broken. His pale cheeks were flushed red and his shoulders slumped forward. Usually he stood tall, with authority, but that has changed because of Piper._

_“Jason, I love you,”_

_“Don’t, Piper. How can you say that? How can you tell me you love me and then breakup with me?” His voice rose with anger, but Piper could hear the heartache too. What she was doing wasn’t easy for her either, but everything just seemed to be falling apart, at least in her mind it was._

_“Because it’s the truth! I still love you! But, I… this isn’t working out anymore, I don’t think. I don’t know, I’ve been so fucking confused lately. Hera’s Mist manipulation affected me too. I’m_ _having flashbacks of things that never happened. Like our first kiss, that we didn’t have at the Wilderness school, or when you met me and Leo, things that never happened. It’s all coming back to me in flashes and it’s fucking with my head.”_

_“You don’t think it’s affected me too? Piper, I have nightmares about what’s real and what’s not. I’m scared this is still her messing with me. Why can’t we work through this together, Piper?”_

_She shook her head, “I don’t know. It’s too much for me to handle. I’m sorry, I just- I have to clear my head. I think the best way to do that is if we go our separate ways for now.”_

_She watched as he wiped his eyes and her heart felt like it was dropping into her stomach. The weather outside became dark and windy, rain was beginning to fall. The energy in the room changed, and she could feel it. It felt darker, heavier, and she wanted to leave as soon as possible._

_Jason didn’t say anything. His eyebrows furrowed together, his lips stayed in a tight line as he tried to process everything going on. “Please, just go,” he whispered._

_Piper nodded, taking one last glance at him before leaving. By the time she got home, she was drenched from head to toe and sobbing. She felt guilty for the way everything happened, but she couldn’t say she regretted her decision._

_..._

Piper inhaled deeply through her nose, getting up to unpack her things. She needed a distraction, desperately, before she kept thinking back to all of those times with Jason, the good, the bad. All of it hurt. Sometimes, when she thought of how their breakup played out, she felt like a knife was being driven into her heart.

Lacy walked back into the cabin and Piper was suddenly taken aback. How long had it been since she left? Was she really thinking about Jason for that long?

“Piper, don’t you want dinner?” Lacy asked.

She blinked, “Dinner? Didn’t you have to go approve a setlist or something?”

“That was an hour ago,” She said casually and Piper felt dizzy. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I just must’ve zoned out for a while, or something,” Piper nodded and got up. Her stomach rumbled quietly and she weakly smiled, “Guess I am ready for dinner.”

Lacy bit her lip, she didn't want to press Piper for answers, but she knew something was wrong. Together they walked with arms linked to the dining pavilion for dinner.

* * *

Piper sat with her cabin at dinner, introducing herself to a few new people who were brought to camp earlier in the year and soon claimed by Aphrodite. She had fun listening to their tales of capture the flag and three legged races. One of the new campers was a girl named Daphne, she had a dark complexion and tight curls with velvety dark brown eyes, she was 15, and a nail artist. She even offered to do Piper’s nails for Valentine’s Day, but she politely declined. She didn’t need a constant reminder of the holiday, the pink paper hearts floating on a fishing wire above them was enough to make her nauseous for days. She wondered what her mom thought of her right now, but it was better for Piper to pretend like her mother didn’t exist. 

“So, then Mitchell accidentally uses the love potion on one of the kids from the Hermes cabin, right? And obviously that did not go over well… our cabin was rigged for days,” Lacy said, shaking her head.

Mitchell rolled his eyes, “And you made me take your garbage shift for two weeks because of it. I don’t know how else to apologize.”

“Well, maybe if you labeled your potions correctly…”

“It’s not my fault. The girl from the Hecate cabin tricked me!”

Piper watched as they bickered back and forth, everyone else at the table was certainly amused by it. _Gods, I missed this_. She thought, and finally felt for once like she was at home. She was comfortable with herself, she wasn’t going around in circles right now between her emotions. She was genuinely happy.

“Did someone order a _Repair Boy?_ ”

Piper looked over, and sure enough, there Leo stood with a shit-eating grin. His leg was propped up on the table and his elbow rested on his knee, his toolbelt hanging from his hip.

“Oh my Gods!” Piper squealed, with a bright laugh. She got up and lunged at him, pulling Leo into a bear hug.

“OW OW OW, you’re hurting me,” Leo whined, hugging her back. He was up on his tiptoes because Piper was an inch taller than him, and he hated feeling short.

“I’ve been working out,” She joked, releasing her grip on him. She felt a wash of relief come over her body. Leo made everything better just by being there.

“What’s for dinner? I’m starving,” He said, pulling away.  
  
“Really? That’s it? Not ‘hey how are you, Piper? It’s been so long since we’ve seen each other and you’re my best friend in the entire world I’ve missed you so much, it’s so good to see you’?” Piper said to him, smirking a little to herself.

“Oh my bad,” He cleared his throat and sat down. Mocking her voice, he said, “Piper, oh my Gods, It’s been so long. Come and sit, bestie, I’ve missed you _sooooo_ much!”

Piper rolled her eyes, sitting next to him. She couldn’t say she wasn’t expecting that. “Missed you too, Valdez,” She said, patting him on the back.

“Do you think I have to leave an offering if I’m eating your leftovers?” He asked, taking a bite of the leftover garlic bread she had on her plate.

“I think you’ll be fine...I think…” Piper said, puckering her lips. “There should be some kind of handbook.”

Leo spit out what he had in his mouth, “I mean… they don’t want _your_ leftovers right?”

They stared at each other for a second, both thinking _Gods can be tricky_.

“You know, just to be safe,” Leo got up with Piper’s plate.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna see you be turned into a toad or something.”

They shared a laugh and Leo walked over to the flame, tossing in half of a meatball that was on the plate, saying a quick _hello_ to his dad before walking back to the table, plopping next to Piper again, eating whatever she had left on her plate.

“This place looks…” Leo looked at the decorations that surrounded them then back at the table where the Aphrodite kids stared expectantly at him. He was about to say something along the lines of ‘ _like a CVS aisle during the month of February”_ but upon seeing the younger Aphrodite campers with their big puppy dog eyes, he faltered, instead saying “it looks great. Really gets you in the Valentine’s Day spirit.” he almost let out a breath of relief seeing the way the other’s eyes had lit up.

“Yeah, looks great,” Piper agreed, but Leo could tell by the way her lip twitched, she wasn’t happy. He couldn’t blame her, unable to imagine what she was going through these past months. 

“There’s gonna be a special show at the amphitheater tomorrow. Performed by the Apollo cabin, of course. You guys gonna go?” Mitchell asked.

“Oh, probably,” Piper replied, leaning up against Leo, “Depends, but I think it’ll be fun. How’s the set list look, Lacy?”

Lacy huffed, “They’re only doing two Taylor Swift songs. I find that’s a crime against humanity.”

“Only two?” Leo asked, wrinkling his nose, “What’s the point of going then?” He said in a joking tone.

“That’s exactly what I said!” Lacy exclaimed, “No point, whatsoever. But the rest looked okay, _I suppose_.”

Piper laughed a little bit, “Well it sounds like it’s gonna be fun. We’ll try to make it.”

Everyone finished the rest of dinner. Piper was glad Leo was there, she hadn’t seen him in so long that these reunions were thrilling. Especially with what Piper had on her mind, she needed Leo more than anything now. She didn’t plan to dump any of her feelings on him, but both of them knew tomorrow would be a hard day.

“So, did you fly here on Festus?” Piper asked as they walked to the campfire. She put her hood up and zipped up her jacket, as the night drew closer, the air got colder, but as they got closer to the campfire, she could feel the warmth seeping through her body and deep into her bones.

“Sure did. He needed to stretch his wings and be in the air. I parked him on the hill then I had to lug him in his suitcase form into camp,” he chuckled a bit, shoving his hands in his pockets. They sat next to each other, close to the fire.

“Hope you kept warm. It’s freezing today,” She said, leaning against him for extra warmth.

“Pft, you’re telling me. I almost forgot a hat and Josephine scolded me about my ears getting frostbitten and falling off,” He said, “But I built some heaters into Festus, so he kept me nice and toasty during the journey.”

“Good, I wouldn’t have wanted to see you without ears. Gross,” Piper shuddered, the image in her mind.

They talked quietly, catching up on each other’s lives as the Apollo cabin led everyone in singalongs. Leo and Piper both had a few s’mores and of course, Leo made a mess of chocolate all over himself and Piper as they ate.

“These are my good jeans, Valdez,” Piper cursed at him with a laugh, attempting to wipe the chocolate off with a napkin.

“No one told you to wear your good jeans to camp, Pipes,” He scoffed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, “You should be more like me, wear sweatpants once in a while.”

“I saved my sweatpants for tomorrow,” She replied, looking at the ground with a quiet sigh, “Gods know I’m gonna be a trainwreck.”

Leo wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug, “Trust me, I know. But that’s why we’re here, right? To get through this dumb holiday together. Oh, sorry, Aphrodite, I didn’t mean that. This is a totally cool holiday.”

Piper sniffled a little, she hadn’t meant to start crying, but the way she was feeling right now—heard and seen— she hadn’t felt in a long time. “Yeah, you’re right, Leo. We’ll get through this together.”

“Mhm,” He said, sighing a little. Piper could feel his shoulders relax against her.. “Is this a new coat?”

Piper pulled back from the hug and nodded, looking down at her coat, “Yeah, it is. I can’t believe you noticed.”

“Oh, well…” He said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I might’ve gotten some chocolate on it…”

“Leo!” Piper groaned, giving his shoulder a shove, which made him lose balance and fall over onto the ground. 

“I’m sorry! I’ll clean it for you!”

“You better,” She huffed, getting up, and helping Leo to his feet. “I’m going back to my cabin. I’m tired.”

“Me, too. It’s been a long day, huh?” Leo said, walking in the direction of the cabins next to Piper.

“Totally,” Piper nodded, pushing a hand through her hair. 

“I’ll see you in the morning, okay? Tomorrow we’re spending all day together, just you and me, _nena_ ,” He said, gently squeezing her shoulder.

“Can’t wait, _chiquito,_ ” Piper said, a smug look planted on her face.

“¡Oye, no me llames eso! Ay, chingada,” He cursed at her, crossing his arms. “I’m shorter than you by an inch, freak.”

“You’re a freak,” Piper laughed. She missed this; Leo swearing at her or yelling in Spanish after she said something to set him off. The only thing missing was Jason. He was always there to make sure things didn’t elevate to a place where they shouldn’t go. Piper and Leo knew what lines not to cross, but sometimes they edged the line. Jason never failed to deescalate things quickly if it got too tense.

“You’re freakishly tall, so how does that feel?” He huffed.

“Feel’s good actually, I can reach the cabinets at the very top without a step stool.”

“Fuck off, Piper,” Leo said, but Piper knew he wasn’t mad because he was grinning wildly.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” She said, as they approached the Aphrodite cabin. 

“See ya, Pipes,” He smiled, walking to the Hephaestus cabin. 

Piper didn’t remember falling asleep that night. It took a while though, tossing and turning, unable to shut her brain off. She even considered going to Cabin 15 to beg one of the campers to help induce sleep, but she didn’t want to risk it. They were mischievous, probably more so than Hermes’ kids, and the last thing she wanted was one of them manipulating her dreams or taking her memories, or something along those lines. She was way too vulnerable for that.

When she woke, it was early in the morning, the sun was barely rising. She couldn’t sleep any longer, since it was mostly dreams of Jason, and she partially wondered if her mother was behind this. She wouldn’t be surprised though, she always felt like her mother wanted to make her life as miserable as possible.

She decided to stay awake, quietly tiptoeing around the cabin, careful not to wake anyone else up. She scribbled out a Valentine’s Day card for Lacy and Mitchell because despite hating this holiday, she felt like she had to show them that she loved them forever and always and she was grateful for them. Plus, they both loved the holiday, so the least she could do was something nice for them. Piper even made a card for Leo, on pink construction paper that said ‘love you motherfucker -piper’ By the time she finished, the sun had risen. She braided her hair to the side and got ready for the day, dressing in layers to keep warm. When she stepped outside, she froze. There was a warm glow in the distance near the volleyball courts, and her heart was telling her exactly who it was. As she approached, the figure of a woman became clearer; long chestnut-colored hair that fell in flowy beach waves, eyes that mirrored a kaleidoscope—like Piper’s— and caramel skin. Her features were soft and inviting, so much so that Piper wanted to fall into her arms and sob. She held back, knowing Aphrodite’s features changed to what the person desired most, and right now, Piper desired a mother-figure. Someone who shared an identity with her, who knew what she was going through, who would hold Piper tightly and tell her it was gonna be okay.

“Piper, darling, come sit,” Aphrodite said, her voice enchanting; it was smooth, buttery and sweet almost. Piper obliged immediately, sitting next to her mother, careful not to look directly at her. She knew she wasn’t in her true form, so she couldn’t be injured, but she was afraid if she looked, she would start sobbing. “I’ve heard your prayers, my child.”

Piper was snapped out of her enchantment quickly. She bit her cheek, wanting to say ‘ _Oh, have you now?’_ and storm away, but she didn’t. She wanted to hear the rest of what her mom had to say. Maybe it would bring her some peace of mind.

“You’ll get through this,” Aphrodite gently stroked Piper’s hair, like a mother would to console a weeping child. “Understand you will be at peace soon, darling.” And Piper felt like her insides were thawing and her head felt like it was melting. She couldn’t understand why.

“I’ll be at peace soon,” She murmured back to her mother, eyes finally looking up at the woman. Immediately tears pooled in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. Aphrodite gently pushed them away with her finger and leaned down, pressing a light kiss to Piper’s temple.

“Remember this, my child. And Happy Saint Valentine’s,” Aphrodite told her daughter, getting up. Piper watched as she walked away and disappeared into the distance, like a mirage in the desert.

When Piper blinked, in her hands was a heart shaped box. She opened it carefully, and there were small rose quartz crystals and chocolate strawberries. She closed it quickly and stood, noticing everyone in the dining pavilion for breakfast. Could time have passed that fast?

“Piper, we were wondering where you went!” Mitchell said as she approached the table.

She sat down and smiled sheepishly , “Woke up early,” She shrugged, “Decided to just go for a walk.”

“Well Happy Valentine’s Day!” Lacy said happily, hugging her sister tightly before letting go. “We got you this.” She handed Piper a red-sparkly card, signed by everyone in the cabin.

“Thank you, guys,” Piper smiled softly, “I really appreciate it. I love you all, more than you know.” She said, hugging Lacy gently before getting up, “I’m gonna grab some food. I’m starving, all of a sudden.”

She headed towards the flames in the center of the pavilion when her plate was filled with french toast and eggs. She tossed a piece of the french toast in there, the smell of cinnamon wafting back at her. “Thanks mom,” she said quietly before heading back to the table.

The rest of the cabin ate their breakfast, chatting excitedly about the events they had planned for today. They were distributing carnations that were grown by the Demeter cabin from”secret admirers” and for dinner, apparently something grand was going to happen, but Lacy wouldn’t tell anyone what was planned. Piper listened, and although she was hurting, she was excited too. Seeing her siblings chat about the day joyfully had an affect on Piper’s mood.

“Piper, my homegirl!” Leo said, practically bouncing up to the table. “Listen, I parked Festus right in the clearing that’s in the beginning of the forest.”  
  
“You dragged him all the way to the forest for what?” Piper raised an eyebrow with a small laugh.

“Well a few nymphs helped because you know, he’s kind of heavy and my arms just don’t bear that kind of strength. But anyways, that’s not the point. The point is I have something planned. We’re going in 20 minutes so meet me at the edge of the forest. And bring snacks!” Leo said quickly before darting away.

“Is he usually that bouncy?” Lacy asked.

“Sometimes,” Piper laughed a little, taking a bite of her french toast. She knew better than anyone, he was probably hurting right now too. He never shows it though, he tends to cover up

his feelings by joking about it, or trying to invent new crazy objects. Piper admired his creativity, but he also needed an actual outlet to let his feelings out. 

Twenty minutes came and went. Piper was at the edge of the forest, where Leo told her to meet him. She had a bag of all the chocolates and candies she received over the past day, plus some chips and water, in case Leo wasn’t in the mood for chocolate.

“Oh thank Gods, you made it,” Leo said, out of breath. He leaned over, his hands on his knees, panting, “I got distracted, forgot I told you to meet me here. It’s the—”

“ADHD, I know,” she chuckled, “You didn’t have to run, I would’ve waited.”

"Well I wasn’t sure,” Leo stood up straight, “Okay let’s go.”

Together, they walked into the forest. Piper was painfully aware of the wood nymphs who were giggling, thinking the two were on a date. She wanted to gag, she would never think about Leo romantically, but she let them have their way. Nothing about this would be romantic, she was sure of that. She was actually afraid it would turn into them sobbing all night about Jason.

“We’re here,” Leo announced as they arrived at the clearing. Festus was set up, more giant than Piper remembered, and he was giving off plenty of heat. There was a cooler and some blankets set up in front of the celestial bronze dragon so they could sit down. “Ta-da.” he said, unenthusiastically, opening up his arms to motion to the set-up.

“So, this is where we’re gonna cry today?” Piper nodded, walking over with a small smile. She plopped on the ground, opening up the cooler, “and alcohol, yum. I cannot wait to day-drink.”

Leo laughed and sat next to her, “Yeah, I figured we would need it today. This is the best I could do, privacy-wise. You know, minus the wood nymphs and monsters.”

She chuckled slightly and took a beer out of the cooler, opening it up and taking a sip. “If they want to eavesdrop on us talking about Jason Grace, then so be it.” Her words hung in the air for a while, and she knew Leo wasn’t expecting Jason’s name to be brought up so soon.

“Yup,” He opened up a beer, holding it in his hands as he spoke. “Speaking of which, how’s Oklahoma?”

“Just peachy,” Piper sighed, looking over at him, “I was dating this girl for a while. Her name is Shel, but I realized I was dating her for the wrong reasons. Like I needed a distraction. It was shitty of me because I felt like I was using her, you know?”

“I get it,” Leo replied, taking a swig of the beer. “I guess that’s how it was with me and Calypso. You know, I didn’t realize it at first. I just thought I _needed_ a girlfriend or something. I was kind of relieved when we broke up; things ended mutually. She wanted to focus on school, and I kind of just realized that I didn’t actually want to date anyone. I really just needed therapy.”

Piper laughed loudly, throwing her head back. That was the most relatable thing she heard in months. “Fuck yeah, Leo. Preach. I need therapy too, but here we are.”

"There needs to be some kind of special therapist for demigods or something. We go through way too much just to have our trauma ignored, you know?” He said with a soft sigh.

“I agree. Hundred percent. Maybe we can form some group or something, I don’t know. Talk to Mr. D or Chiron about it…” Piper suggested, chugging more of the beer. “Oh I brought chocolates and sweet-tarts, by the way,” she said, dumping out the bag of snacks in front of them.

“Perfect,” Leo said, grabbing the sweet-tarts, “There’s this guy I work with down at the mechanic shop,” he started, popping the hard candy into his mouth. “Really hot.”

Piper took a chocolate, smiling a bit, “So, go for it, dude. What are you waiting for?”  
“Okay, well,” Leo huffed, “I’m scared, I guess. I’ve never had feelings for another guy. Plus, how do you even know if he’s gay or into guys or whatever?”

“Hmm,” Piper mused, leaning back on her hands, “Does he laugh when you tell jokes?”

He thought for a second then nodded, “Yeah.”

“He’s _totally_ into you then,” she grinned over at him, “because no offense, you make dumb jokes. Just ask him out? What’s the worst that happens, you get rejected? I mean, c’mon Leo, you’ve faced way worse than that. I mean you defeated Gaea…”

“You’re absolutely right, Pipes. There’s no reason I should be afraid to ask a guy twice my age to go out,” He said coolly.

Piper gaped, “TWICE YOUR AGE? ARE YOU INSANE?” she wanted to hit him upside the head, hoping it would knock some sense into him.

“Piper, relax,” He laughed, “I’m kidding. He’s like twenty. I’m almost nineteen, remember?”

“Jesus, Leo,” She rubbed her forehead, “I thought you were crushing on some creepy forty year old, holy fuck.”

“I know, it was kind of funny seeing your reaction though,” He smiled, gently nudging her with his shoulder. She rolled her eyes at him, taking another sip of her drink. Only Leo would mess with her like that. They talked throughout the day, mostly about what they missed in the past year. Piper talked about living on the reservation and how she liked it more than Los Angeles. Leo talked about living at the Waystation, thinking about applying to community college, and doing community service work with foster kids. He talked about the children fondly, how he sees himself in each one of them, and they even started to call him “Uncle Leo”. 

Lots of beers and too many chocolates later, they were lying down, staring up at the sky. It was after lunchtime, and the sun was due to go down soon.

“Jason would’ve loved this,” Piper murmured, resting her hands on her stomach. “You know, my mother showed up at camp this morning. She told me I would be at peace soon. Basically that was it,” she let out a bitter laugh, “and I was so entranced by her because for months I desperately prayed for a mother-figure. And there she was.”

Leo sighed, “Shitty how it works out like that, huh? It’s like… we fight all these wars and do all these quests for them and sometimes we don’t even get recognition. I’m gonna get cursed for saying all this probably, but sometimes I wish my dad would come down from his throne to say ‘I know everything you’ve been through since a child has been hard but I’m proud of you’. You know? Something as simple as that.”

“Exactly,” Piper agreed. They sat in silence for a while, and it was comfortable. Leo was thinking about what to say next. He wanted to talk about Jason, but he didn’t want to upset Piper.

The five beers he had fogged his judgement and he sat up, grabbing something out of the bag that was next to him. “I got this for you. I know you’ve been going through a tough time and I have too, but I know Jason wouldn’t want us to cry over him for eternity.”

Piper pushed herself up with a grunt and took the gift from Leo. It was a small box wrapped in red wrapping paper. When she opened it, she found a heart-shaped locket, made out of silver. When she opened the locket, there was a picture of Jason on one side, and on the other, a picture of her, Leo, and Jason. Leo was making a goofy face, of course, Jason was smiling widely, and Piper was pouting. She couldn’t remember the context of the photo in that moment, but she knew it had to be a special day. She brought the locket to her chest and held it against her heart. “Thank you, Leo,” She whispered.

“The heart is a little janky ‘cuz i made it myself,” He replied softly, half-smiling. Leo was relieved she didn’t get angry, or find it cheesy. He agonised over it the past few days because he didn’t know if this would be too emotional for Piper. He knew they were both at different stages of grief right now; his was acceptance of course, Piper was going back and forth between bargaining and anger, and he wanted to help her start to move on. He hoped it could mend even a small part of her heart.

“Well, I love it,” She replied, putting it around her neck. She fiddled with the heart for a second, a frown upon her lips. “He saved us so many times, and we couldn’t save him.”

Leo moved closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder. He took in a breath, it was shaky, but he wanted to compose himself before he started talking, “We saved him too. We might not have been able to stop his death from happening, but…” He gulped, “We were there for him always. Remember when you charm-spoke him back to life after he saw Hera’s true form?”

Piper’s lips quivered, “Yeah, Gods I was so scared we were gonna lose him that day.” She whispered, her voice fragile.

“And remember when he defeated that giant Enchilada?”

“Enceladus.”

They looked at each other and laughed. Piper didn’t know when it started, but she was crying, and so was Leo. They kept laughing and crying, holding onto each other tightly. Piper was afraid to let go, like she might lose Leo too. As odd as it was, this was the first time she felt good. She cried and cried, and so did Leo, and she knew they were feeling the same way. They were grieving together, and that’s all Piper needed; someone who understood her, someone to be heartbroken with, someone to reminisce with.

“My Gods,” she said, wiping her tears away.

Leo did the same, sniffling as he did, still chuckling too. “I needed that.”

“Me, too.” Piper agreed, wiping her hands on her pants. “I’m glad you’re here. I always needed someone who just understood, you know? It feels good to just cry without being questioned about it.”

“Agreed, Pipes. Agreed.” He sighed softly, “We should’ve done this earlier. It probably would’ve helped to connect with you and not go through this by ourselves.”

“Promise me we won’t go this long without seeing each other again? You’re my best friend, like a brother to me,” Piper held out her pinky to him, “And I don’t want that to change.”

“It won’t change, ever. I promise,” Leo hooked his pinky onto hers, “I pinky promise that we won’t go this long without seeing each other again.”

She smiled and pulled away. The sun went down, but behind them Festus was glowing so they had enough light to see within the clearing. Leo pulled out two chocolate bars and handed one to Piper. She looked at the wrapper and it read _‘simple dark chocolate—sea salt’._

Leo unwrapped the bar and looked at Piper, “To Jason Grace”

“To Jason Grace,” Piper toasted.

And Jason watched from Elysium with a smile as his two best friends gagged on the salted dark chocolate in honor of him.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! comments and kudos are well appreciated <3


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